Spotlight MARCH 13, 2013 BLUE VALLEY WEST VOLUME TWELVE, NUMBER EIGHT 16200 ANTIOCH ROAD, OVERLAND PARK, KAN. 66085 S ight. It may seem ordinary to many, yet for the few that have extra or limited perceptions, the world of sight changes to something extraordinary. Color Blindness and Synesthesia affect students at BV West and change the way that they see the world. Photo Illustration by Meghan Ketcham, Emily Moore, & Coleen Bost. 8-9 Sophomore Youtube Stars: Several BV West students star in, produce, and edit unique videos for viewers to see on the popular website “Youtube”. Some of their videos have hundreds of thousands of views. 5 No Hate for In-State: Spotlight editor Abby Krstulic ex- presses frustrations with students insulting in-state schools. She en- courages everyone to be more understanding of the college selection process. 15 66 Senior Countdown Days Until Graduation All about the Eyes Spotlight MARCH 13, 2013 BLUE VALLEY WEST
Transcript
SpotlightMarch 13, 2013BLUE VALLEY
WEST
voluMe Twelve, nuMber eighT 16200 anTioch road, overland park, kan. 66085
Sight. It may seem ordinary to many, yet for the few that have extra or limited perceptions, the world of sight changes to something extraordinary.
Color Blindness and Synesthesia affect students at BV West and change the way that they see the world. Photo Illustration by Meghan Ketcham, Emily Moore, & Coleen Bost. 8 - 9
Sophomore Youtube Stars:Several BV West students star in, produce, and edit unique videos for viewers to see on the popular website “Youtube”. Some of their videos have hundreds of thousands of views. 5
No Hate for In-State:Spotlight editor Abby Krstulic ex-presses frustrations with students insulting in-state schools. She en-courages everyone to be more understanding of the college selection process. 15 66
Senior Countdown
Days Until Graduation
All about the Eyes
SpotlightMarch 13, 2013BLUE VALLEY
WEST
bvwnews.compage2 spotlight{
Letter from the editors...
This month, readers may notice that the paper is slightly different and has a four page colored insert regarding school safety. We’ve been excited about this for a while, and even though it’s only four pages,
a lot of work went in to developing the stories and designing the insert. Our staff had some big challenges with the safety issue; we even sent out two of our editors undercover for some investigative reporting. While this may have been a little bit scary, their results prove to the public why the district’s safety improvements are necessary. Aside from the safety insert, we had our normal in-depth feature is over Synesthesia and color blindness. Surprisingly, we were able to find more BV West students with these conditions than we thought. We believed it was important to highlight these interesting students and to portray their situa-tions accurately. Please enjoy this special issue of the Spotlight. Have fun and be safe over spring break, and make sure you are ready for fourth quarter upon return! Seniors, we know it’s going to be nearly impossible but just think; after break, we only have to make it through 53 days.
Editors in Chief
Meghan Ketcham and Maddy Wilson
You’ll find the following stories:
*Learn about the aftermath of the JJ Restaurant Fire.*Read the brand new exclusive colunms.*Vote on our poll!*Discover about Mr. Myers’s science camping trip.*Ponder over some of the Spring Break safety tips.*Chuckle at the tales of the Improv Troupe adventures at Comedy City.
Web Editors in Chief: Tucker Paine and Abby Krstulic
Visit our updated website: www.BVWNEWS.com
Follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook for more.
@BVWSpotlight BVWSpotlight BVWNews.com
Important Dates
•March 14th-March 24th Spring Break•March 17th Saint Patrick’s Day•March 25th Fourth Quarter begins.•March 27th West Area Band Festival•March 28th West Area Orchestra Festival •March 29th-30th Rep Show•April 1st April Fools day•April 4th Senior Speech Tryouts•April 5th Jaguars Jazz Dinner of Note•April 8th March Madness Championship Game•April 9th West Works•April 11th-12th Spring Play•April 13th Prom- Ritz Charles
March-April 2013
Relay Surpasses Goal
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Relay For Life event raises $126, 655.92 for cancer researchRYAN WILLIAMS
Reporter
Relay for Life, the overnight cancer fundraising event organized by the American Cancer So-ciety, is held at various high schools around the
country. BV West’s Relay for Life event was held from Friday, March 8th to Saturday, March 9th. For the first time, it was held at BV Southwest instead of BV West. According to BV West’s Relay for Life sponsor Cheryl Kerns, the change was implemented to encour-age more BV Southwest students to participate in Relay. Since BV Southwest is the smallest and newest school in the district, less of their students knew about it. There is also the yearly possibility that one of the two schools could be hosting sub-state for basketball, which would be a conflict if it was the same night as Relay. This way, BV West and BV Southwest could back each other up in case there was a conflict. Senior Abby Krstulic, one of the school’s Relay for Life chairs, felt positive about the change in scenery. “I’m excited to do Relay at BV Southwest,” Krstulic said. “I haven’t seen much of BV Southwest, so I think it will be awesome. The gym is also bigger than BV
West’s, so I think that will be good, too.” The event ran from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and during that time one person from each team took a turn walking around the track. Throughout the night, participants camped around the gym while participating in various activities. After the opening ceremony, the event kicked off with the survivor lap, in which cancer survivors took the first lap around the track to celebrate their victory against the disease. This was followed by the survivor lap, during which those who had given care to cancer patients took the second lap around the track. All the relay teams then proceeded to walk together during the opening lap. Later in the evening, a luminaria ceremony took place. Candles were lit inside the personalized luminaria bags that were purchased by participants. The luminarias were placed around the track to honor those who fought cancer. In order to participate in the event, students were required to raise $100 to benefit cancer research. If they did not obtain the sufficient amount, they were required to leave by midnight as opposed to 7 a.m. Relay for Life is so popular likely because it’s such a
rewarding experience to the participants. A great deal of work is put into it, and all that work gets paid off in one unforgettable night. “A good amount of friendships have been made or developed because of Relay, and I think that it’s great that people can come together and bond over a common goal,” Krstulic said. Relay for Life was created by a man named Gordy Klatt in 1985 when he ran around a track for 24 hours straight to aid the American Cancer Society in fighting the increasingly threatening disease, raising $27,000 for the cause. Currently, the movement has raised over $4 billion dollars to battle cancer, and that number is going up every year. BV West raised over $31,000 this year. “My favorite part about sponsoring Relay for Life is seeing kids make a huge difference in the community, little by little,” Kerns said. “It’s fun to see the leader-ship that comes forth from students and how much they grow individually in leadership, and the looks on their faces when they see the grand total.” No matter how much fun every student had at the event, everyone was there for one fundamental purpose: to fight for an end to cancer once and for all.
bvwnews.compage4 spotlight features{
Signing their LeaveClass of 2013 presents lockerbay sign for senior gift
MEGHAN KETCHAMEditor in Chief
As spring break begins, many stu-dents may notice a new addition to the senior locker bay. A glow-
ing sign, displaying the word ‘Seniors’ with a jaguar running across the bottom, stands out among the green lockers. This new sign, a gift from the Class of 2013, differentiates the senior locker bay from the rest of the school. With the tiles from Class of 2006 and now the sign, the locker bay is becoming a special place for seniors. Each year, the seniors hope to give a gift that will describe the senior class and will contrib-ute to the school’s at-mosphere and learning environment. The four senior class officers, Kenna Conway, Morgan Mobley, Kirsti Stahly and Alyssa Wahrman decided the senior gift and made plans to make it happen. Hoping to make the locker bay into a special place for seniors, Stahly claims that a previous senior gift became the inspiration for this year’s gift. “Our original idea was to vamp up the senior locker bay, but we did not know how,” Stahly said. “We actually were thinking of previous senior gifts and saw that there was a neon light up sign in the gym.” The neon sign in the gym, gifted by
the Class of 2007, contributed to the special atmosphere in the athletics depart-ment, something that the seniors wanted to pull into their own part of the school. “We thought that the sign that lights up in the gym was really cool, so we thought of getting that same sign, having it say ‘Seniors’ with a big jag running across it,” Mobley said. “It will be easy, affordable, and still accomplishes what we wanted so that is why we chose it.” To get funds for the gift, the class of-ficers and the senior class raised money in various ways throughout the year.
“They sold t-shirts to fund-raise,” senior class sponsor Jennifer LeGrotte said. “We wrote a grant for the PTO. It is all money that
is raised by the kids.” Putting a lot of thought into the gift, the officers hope that seniors will enjoy the new sign. Mobley claims that her favorite part is the atmosphere it provides for the seniors. “I like how it sets us apart from the dif-ferent locker bays,” Mobley said. “When you walk in, it gives you the essence of the senior locker bay. “ Even though the gift affects seniors now, LeGrotte says that future seniors will also appreciate it. “I think that the seniors will enjoy it because it is not just for this senior class but it is for the seniors every year.”
Class of 2013 Senior Gift Sign Design
Past Senior Gifts2002: Victory Bell
2003: Score Table
2004: Neon Sign in Gym
2005: Concrete Sign
2006: Jaguar Locker Bay TilesThe Victory Bell was given by the class of 2002.
2007: Gym Floor Jaguar Design
2008: Podium
2009: Jaguar Statue
2010: Jukebox
2011: Sidewalk by Senior Parking Lot
2012: Booth Seating at Senior Tables
2013: Senior Locker Bay Sign
Above: This is a sketch of the sign that is now in the senior locker bay. Seniors pulled their inspiration from a sign in the gym. Sketch provided by Jennifer LeGrotte.
“I think that the seniors will enjoy it because it is not just for this senior class but it is for the seniors every year.”
Jennifer LegrotteSenior Class Sponsor
{ {The jukebox in the commons was a gift from the class of 2010.Photos by Mackenzie Sipes & Elise St. Louis.
bvwnews.com page 5spotlight features {
LAUREN ALBERSReporter
Students are getting ready to shed their sweatpants and warm hoodies and start preparing for the long break that has yet to come. Spring Break is well on
its way, meaning a break from all this brutal weather and a start to that warmer weather feeling. For some students Spring Break is a time to relax on the beach or travel to some place halfway around the world. But for most, that is actually not the case. Only a handful of students are traveling out of the United States during Spring Break. Sophomores Jessi Wallace and An-issa Vargas are traveling to several places over their break: Key West, Fla. and Cozumel, Mexico. “Spring break is what gets you looking forward to summer,” Vargas says. “ When I think of Spring Break I think of getting tan and going to the beach.” Sophomore Megan Lask is planning on going to the sandy beaches of Aruba and to enjoy the hot weather.
Seniors Tomas Ridenhour and Morgan Mobley are flying all the way to Guatemala for vacation. Senior Jack Owens will be visiting Paris for his senior trip. As seniors start to plan their senior trips a vast majority are planning to spend their time in Mexico. “Spring break for me is about going on vacation and getting away from everything,” sophomore Amanda Milonovich says. Many students will also begin to start their college visits, in preparation for picking their future school. Most juniors and seniors will be venturing out with fam-ily to tour a large list of several colleges that they might be selecting from. Surprisingly, a majority of students are staying closer to home. A sample of students questioned why Spring Break is known for all these warm weather trips, when in reality it might just be time to relax and to be off from school. Also, a few students even go as far to say they are happier in the cold weather and would rather stay home
then venture out to places like Guatemala, Key West, and Paris over their spring break. “Spring Break to me is more about taking the time off of school to get things done and just to have more time for the things I normally don’t have time for during the school week,” sophomore Abbie Lucas said. The students who are staying in town for the break have a lot that they are looking forward to doing. Most students said they will be playing video games, going to movies, shopping, visiting restaurants and sleeping in for most of the break. Some mentioned that they would be busy with sporting games and activities, which left little time for relaxing. Spring break means school is coming to an end, and that summer is well on its way. It will not be much lon-ger before seniors will be packing up and heading out of BV West, and a new class of students will be beginning their journey through the halls. All in all, the time after spring break is sure to fly by.
REBECCA ABRAHAMReporter
YouTube is a creative forum that serves as an out-let for its users to express themselves in unique and different ways. Many people who upload
videos do comedic skits, beauty and fashion videos, vlogs, and covers of popular songs. Sophomores Hayden Coens and Kacki Dreyer make music videos that tell a story set to hit music. They have been making videos since middle school after being inspired by the channel xsamisdx. “Kacki and I started YouTube in seventh grade because we loved making videos to music, and adding effects on her Mac,” Coens said. “We saw a bunch of other people posting these types of videos and we real-ized that we had the potential to do it.” The duo cover an entire spectrum of genres from emotional ballads to pop anthems with some videos get-ting as many as 300,000 hits. In middle school their username was COCOpeb-blez01. Their first video, “California Girls” by Katy Perry, showed their talent for special effects and editing. Their hard work paid off as the likes, comments, and subscribers started rolling in. They also entered many different competition and have won five of the different contests they have entered.
“The different collaborations that we did really helped with exposure and we were getting hundreds of subscribers each day,” Dreyer said. They continued to make a bunch of music videos to popular pop songs, taking their videos to a higher caliber as they gained experience. One of their most popular videos, Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger,” skyrocketed with more than 200,000 views, bringing in many likes and subscribers. As they have gotten older, their videos have become more emotional and leave the viewers pondering over the video long after it has been watched. “When our channel was at its peak, it got hacked and we lost almost half of our subscribers,” Coens said. “This really discouraged us and life got busy, so we took a break for half a year. We then created our new channel to start fresh and new.” The duo’s new channel, hayxkayy, has started up with quite a following and continues to grow. They have a total of 40 videos on both channels combined with each video averaging anywhere from 10,000-20,000 views. Some of their most recent videos have taken on edgier, riskier topics such as cheating, heartbreak, and infatuations. “The Garden,” a music video that deals with a crush taken too far, really showcases their impres-
sive acting skills because there is not any words in the entire video. The string of videos that followed definitely have taken the same route and are made in such a way that goes way beyond their age and experience. Over the past few months, the friends have been caught up with dance, cheer, and track, so they have not been able to put up many videos. They are planning to do to a video every week including vlogs that will be put up on the same channel. “We are really excited for our future videos to come,” Dreyer said. “We want to start doing videos on trending topics, and being able to do some Q/A videos. Our next video is a music video to ‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragons. We can’t say too much about it, but it will definitely be worth the wait.” Coens and Dreyer have been spending a lot of time making and editing their videos and have realized they could make a career out of it. “YouTube has definitely changed our lives more than we could imagine when we first started out,” Coens said. “We have made so many friends throughout this experience, and we both know that we want to either make or edit videos as our profession. I really would like to go to Expression Digital School in L.A. This has definitely become my passion, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
Around the World in 11 Days
Sophomores use Youtube to capture their creativity
Spring Break plans vary from staying in OP to traveling abroad
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Imagine a world where the number one is always red, or when the note C it is accompanied by the color purple. To many, this may seem like a notion from a Tim Burton movie. How-
ever, there exists a very real condition that is called Synesthesia that weaves together things like colors, numbers, sounds and even months. According to the Medical Online Dictionary, Synesthesia is defined as “ A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.” In non-medical jargon, Synesthesia is essentially when there are extra neuron connection in a person’s brain, making it so one sense essentially triggers another when it is used. A good example of now Synesthesia works is seeing colors when playing a certain note on the piano. “I have color-graphic synesthesia, which involves the associa-tion of colors with various things such as numbers and countries in my case, but can extend to letters, or really almost anything,” junior Eric Briscoe said. “For example, one is grey, two is red, three is yellow, four is a blue-purple, five is white, six is a very bright red, seven is vibrant green, eight is deep purple, and nine is dark green. When it comes to numbers, they are for the most part randomly colored, and I have not found a reason for them yet.” Synesthesia is so common that it is seen in one out of 23 people. It is found that Synesthesia runs strongly in families; if one family member has a type of Synesthesia there is a higher chance or a relative, parent, or siblings also having it. “I have number-form synesthesia, meaning that I involuntarily map sequences of things into spatial locations, and I have a very slight case of ordinal linguistic synesthesia,” Carolyn Willis said. “I have this mental map for numbers, months, years, weeks, the time of day, and the alphabet. Synesthesia makes math an incredible dif-ficulty for me. My number line has no negative numbers-it is like the underground, or a black hole. Below zero, there’s just noth-ingness. To this day, I cannot even imagine -1. I have absolutely no idea what that looks like, so in middle school, math started to really confuse me. Square roots are hard, too.” Younger sibling Ashley Willis has the same type of Synesthesia as her sister Carolyn, however her synesthesia manifests itself it different ways.
“When I picture numbers in my head, they show up different colors,” A.Willis said. “Like three looks teal or turquoise, six is bright red and orangey, two is green, eight is blue, nine is brown. It has always been that way; I thought everyone was like that. It is completely natural and a no brainer-zero is black and four is purple. Some names and letters are in colors too, as well as when I picture numbers; they are not all in a straight line. They zig-zag around in some weird pattern.” Not only does Synesthesia color some people’s worlds, it can also affect characteristics of months, numbers, or years each with differing personalities. “I have always believed that Thursday is a little insecure...” C. Willis said. “Thursday just isn’t comfortable in its skin because Friday and Wednesday have such overbearing personalities. Mon-day is a little shy, and Tuesday is oblivious to it all. Aug. feels like an outcast, probably because Sept., Oct., Nov., and the first part of Dec. are such close friends. April is timid, when I visualize the months, I usually do not take note of her until I zoom in on her.” For some, Synesthesia can extend itself into musical tones and bitches. Briscoe also plays violin in the BV West Symphonic Or-chestra, and since his Synesthesia includes pitches and frequencies, it gives him a mental color when he plays a certain note. “When playing violin, I do not associate the notes on the page with colors, rather the pitches themselves, their letter names, and even the finger and string combinations to play them each have colors,” Briscoe said. “The most vibrant is a standard C, which shows up as a royal blue when I mentally process the note. Audio association differs from the visual association with numbers and countries in the sense (no pun intended) that I cannot visualize a sound, which makes the colors the only visual representation mentally, although it is still accompanied by the mental reproduc-tion of the pitch.” With Synesthesia, an entirely different visual world opens up, connecting sounds, colors, numbers, and even years. People with Synesthesia are privy to an entire world that most people are not allowed to access. Depending on how a certain person’s Synesthe-sia manifests itself, it can show up different in everyday life, in and out of school. “My Synesthesia affects just about everything I do, but since it is involuntary, I do not notice its effects until something until something chances,” C. Willis said. “So I guess that is both big and small. I cannot imagine without my Synesthesia.”
A Colorful WorldCondition that connects different sensory
perceptions impacts student lives
Not Just Shades of Grey
Synthesia Number Line: This is how Ashley Willis associates numbers with colors.
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ERIN WALKER
Reporter
Those who do not have the condition Achromatopsia, commonly known as color blind-ness, tend to be rather oblivious to its complications. However, a handful of students and teachers at BV West live with color blindness The average person tends to believe
that living with colorblindness is a life-altering obstacle, but this is not always true. There are many other misconceptions about colorblindness. The most common one being that there is only one type, total colorblindness. Many students who believe these false myths tend to think that living with the condition is far worse than its reality. “It would be depressing seeing only black and white,” freshman Erin Kapaska said. “There would be less beauty in the world.” There are many false color blindness stereotypes that are frequently , according to Zack Engelken. “One typical stereotype I hear often is that everyone assumes all people who are colorblind can only see black and white,” Engelken said. “That’s only the case with around one percent of colorblind people. I can still see colors, just not as vibrant as you see them.” While only one percent of colorblind people have total colorblindness, one in 12 men have some form of the condition. According to WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal), colorblindness is more common in males than females, and student teacher Kyle Winkley explains the biology behind it. “It’s much more common for men to be color blind than it is for women because it is a sex
linked trait,” Winkley said. “If men receive this recessive trait (on the X chromosome) then they are automatically going to be color blind, whereas women have to receive two of the traits.” There are three main types of this condition: red green blindness, blue yellow blindness and total color blindness. Social studies teacher John Rost has a type of colorblindness that deals with reds and greens. For example, red may appear to be bright orange, or a dark green may appear lime green. He also perceives other colors differently than the majority of people. “Well it is mainly an obstacle to small things like sorting socks or other clothes, but it is a nice excuse if I do not match,” Rost said. While not a major complication to everyday life, colorblindness can often result in minor, humorous setbacks. “Once I was at a KU game and there were many, many cheerleaders lined up on the field at a time,” Rost said. “Their uniforms all looked the same color to me so I turned to my buddy next to me and asked him ‘when did KU get so many cheerleaders?’ They all started laugh-ing because it was not just the KU cheerleaders lined up, it was also the ones from the others team.” To people who see a full spectrum of color, colorblind people are somewhat of a novelty. “I actually think it would be interesting to live with colorblindness for a day, to see the dif-ferences,” freshman Malak Allan said. While people without colorblindness view the condition as a severe disadvantage to every-day life, in reality life does not look much different for those like Rost and Engelken.
Students and teachers share their experiences with colorblindness
1 5 7
People with full color vision see:
People missing blue see:
People missing green see:
People missing red see:
Information from colormatters.com
Through the Eyes of the Colorblind
bvwnews.compage10 spotlight arts{
CHEYENNE JONESReporter
I entered the movie theater with anticipation, hoping Beautiful Creatures would live up to its exciting, action-packed trailer and exhilarating special effects. How-
ever, I was sorely disappointed. The movie opened with promise; the story unfolded with the main character—played by Alden Ehrenreich—stuck in Gatlin, S.C., the very epitome of the sticks. The Deep South setting and thick southern drawl seemed to offer a fresh take, but from there, the movie rolled off a cliff, in flames and spewing smoke. Beautiful Creatures is based on the first book in the Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Ethan—the main character—is inpatient to escape the confines of his small hometown. Then one day, the mysterious and magi-cal Lena—played by Alice Englert—arrives, setting off a whirlwind of controversy. Naturally, Ethan and Lena fall in love. The two lovers spend a good portion of the movie basking in each other’s presence with the darker under-tone of some obscure curse that is never fully explained. Amid the confusing lore and an undeveloped story-line, Beautiful Creatures does not even reach the status of Twilight. It is apparent that the producers were hoping to
produce another preteen heartthrob to rake in millions, but instead of a brooding teenage girl meeting and falling in love with a vampire, Beautiful Creatures is about a brood-ing teenage boy meeting and falling for a witch. However, the movie lacks Twilight’s only redeeming factor, Taylor Lautner’s chiseled abs. I was only left with a drippy ro-mance and personal chastisement of a waste of ten dollars on the movie ticket. It would appear from the trailers that even if Beautiful Creatures lacks the well-rounded plotline and convincing characters, the eye-candy special effects would pull the movie through, but even this left much to be desired. In one scene depicting a “castor fight,” the dining room table begins spinning, but the film editors did not stop there, they set the table spinning clock-wise and the entire room spinning counter-clockwise. I could barely contain a burst of laughter. In another scene, when Lena’s evil mother attempts to kill Ethan, she sends out anime-like black tentacles. Although the ridiculous special effects are better than Twilight’s sparkling Edward, this does not say much or redeem it. Overall, I give this movie a solid C. It may perhaps be worth watching on Netflix or on TV someday for bad movie night, but it is certainly not worth wasting ten dol-lars on in the movie theater.
Newest love story fails to delight Spotlight movie criticDisappointment
The Best Of....Teen Romance
Movies• A Walk to Remember (2002)• A Cinderella Story (2004)• Twilight (2008) • The Last Song (2010) • Warm Bodies (out now)• Mortal Instruments- City of Bones (Aug. 2013)
Mickey Ahammed Artist
of the Month
bvwnews.com page11spotlight arts {
EMILY MOORESection Editor
Pictures, drawings, and paintings are almost always filling the art hallway walls. The artwork comes from all different art classes
in that wing, and some students never even take an art class. But senior Mickey Ahammed took one of these art classes when he got here, and he has stayed in art classes since then and developed his hobby into a passion.
“My favorite is definitely drawing or paint-ing just because I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Ahamed said. “Freshman year was when I first took drawing and I have taken drawing until junior year.”
Teachers, who have had him in their art classes since he was a freshman, speak positively about how far he has come in three short years.
“I saw him evolve from being less confident to more confident and from cartoon-like illustrations to pieces with more ‘soul,’” art teacher Debra Waldorf said.
However, Ahammed has been developing his art skills for many years, even before high school.
“I’ve been drawing for a long time, probably since first grade” Ahammed said. “But legitimately drawing, probably middle school.”
With all that drawing practice, Ahammed has developed a sense of precision and focus for drawing. His teachers have also noted this particular aspect of Ahammed as an artist.
“The one thing that always stood out was his good craftsmanship,” Waldorf said.
Teachers Ahamemd has had for other art classes have noticed his perfectionist performance as well.
“Well, he is very particular about his work,” art teacher Terry Ensor said. “He is very precise in his craftsmanship.”
In addition to that, Ahammed appears to have a sense to exceed the expectations of a normal art project.
“In Portfolio and Ceramics, he is hard working and usually comes to class with multiple conclusions to an assignment from what the expectation is,” En-sor said.
Ahammed has grown to be more dedicated to the arts over the years. He has been getting involved in more artistic opportunities this year.
“I have always liked drawing and just art in gen-eral,” Ahammed said “More recently, I guess I have been more serious about it, like going to Portfolio Day and stuff like that.”
Outside of school, Ahammed continues to fur-ther his dedication and talent for art by having a space set aside for it in his own home.
“In my basement, I set up a little art studio sort of thing, with an easel and all that,” Ahammed said.
With extra time spent working on his artwork, Ahammed has gained a passion for one specific area of drawing: portraiture.
“I basically focus more on portraiture just be-cause that’s what I like doing,” Ahammed said.
Ahammed has received a lot of practice in that facet of art, but has also developed his own unique style based on his years of experience. For one piece in particular, Ahammed drew on social critiques to further the meaning in his artwork.
“I like the fact that he is not afraid to bring in some social commentary,” Ensor said. “A lot of students rarely want to go the route of making a statement about the plight of the worker, the plight of people on the planet. He was always willing to go there in his artwork, and so I think that says a lot
about him, being willing to do that.”
Photo of Mickey Ahammed by Coleen BostArtwork Courtesy of Mickey Ahammed
bvwnews.compage12 spotlight sports{
Recovery from any injury can be difficult, and the recoveries that BV West student athletes have to go through when they are injured is no exception. It only takes a second to make one wrong move that could send an athlete into
months of recovery. Injuries are more common in certain sports, but are possible in almost any sport. No matter what sport the athlete plays, an injury is an inconve-nience that most athletes would like to avoid. Some of the injuries that athletes have to recover from can range from sprained ankles, to twisted knees, to bruised shoulders, some injuries are more common than others. Many BV West student athletes have suffered from some form of ankle injury. Freshman Kylie Kuska fractured and tore three ligaments in her ankle in a volleyball game this fall. “At Dig Pink on October 11 to be exact I landed on another girls foot.” Kuska said. “I haven’t been able to practice or play in any games since I had my injury.” Injuries such as the one Kuska suffered from happen to athletes all the time and can be a major set back in a student’s athletic goals. “I couldn’t do anything,” Kuska said. “I was out for months.” Although Kuska could still do some forms of exercise prior to her surgery, she will be on crutches for at least five weeks before she will even be able to start physical therapy. This recovery is very similar to what many athletes go through after an injury. When an athlete becomes injured they have the opportunity to receive care from the BV West athletic trainer Jen Amborn. Amborn helps athletes get through an injury as quickly as possible.
“I take students from their initial injury and provide acute care to help them get through the first stages of pain.” Amborn said. The job of an athletic trainer is no easy task. Amborn has seen her fair share of in-jured athletes. Amborn spends her time helping athletes get back in shape as quickly as possible. “I try and help them return to their court or field of play as quickly as possible by doing functional testing.” Amborn said. Any athlete that has suffered from some form of sports injury knows how much help Amborn can help in their recovery. BV West sophomore Parker McGuire tore his labrum in his shoulder and received her help in taking care of it while he finished his wrestling season. “Jen helped me do stem after practice and wrap my shoulder in ice,” McGuire said. “She gave me exercises to do that would help strengthen my muscles around my labrum.” Amborn not only helps athletes recover, recently she has had to go through a recovery for injuries of her own. This past fall Amborn was going out on the football field to help a hurt player and in the process tore her ACL and other parts of her knee. She has had to undergo various surgeries in order to fix her knee. “I’ve had to change how I practice a little bit because of my injury,” Amborn said. “I’m a very active, crazy person and it kind of slowed me down a bit.” Regardless of your role in athletics, any injury can be an inconvenience. Luck-ily for the students at BV West, an athletic trainer is available to help in recovery so student athletes are able to return to their sport as quickly as possible.
Bouncing BackAthletes receive assistance from trainer Jen Amborn
when recovering from athletic injuries
The BV West basketball team wasn’t even supposed to make it to the State Tour-nament in Wichita, Kansas. They were supposed to go to Lawrence and lose in the first sub-state game. They won by five. Then they were heavy underdogs
when they visited Olathe South on March 1. They won at the buzzer on a layup by BV West junior Ryan Ralston. When it was all said and done, the BV West basketball team went on a tear, pulling off four consecutive upsets and, incredibly, making it to the Boys Basketball 6A State Championship game. In the sub-state games the team managed to get close victories against teams with records better than theirs by playing solid defense and sticking to their gameplan. Their biggest win in the games before the State Tournament was the one against the now 16-6 Olathe South Falcons. After defeating Olathe South and winning their sub-state games, the Jaguars’ im-probable run continued on to the Boys Basketball 6A State Tournament in Wichita. The Jaguars were seeded seventh out of the eight teams that made it to the State Tournament, based on their record from the regular season. Their first matchup was against second-seeded at 21-3 Wichita North, a team that most gave the Jaguars no chance against. Wichita North featured a player named Conner Frankamp, a sharp-shooting senior point guard who is widely regarded as the best recruit in Kansas this season, headed to the University of Kansas to play basketball next year. Frankamp went into the game averaging 32.2 points per game, but the Jaguars defense, and particularly senior Conley Wilkins, were able to hold Frankamp to nearly a third of his average, 11 points.
After defeating Wichita North with an inspiring defensive performance, the Jaguars were faced with the third-seeded 22-2 Shawnee Mission East Lancers. The Lancers had the same record as Wichita North during the regular season and had also beaten the Jaguars by double digits earlier in the year. BV West was a large underdog in this game, and knew they had to play well if they wanted to win this game, having already been beaten by the Lancers previously. BV West went down early on in the game and trailed by three points at halftime. At the start of the second half, Ryan Ralston got hot from behind the arc and made three three-pointers in the third quarter. The spark from Ralston pushed BV West out to an eight point lead and gave BV West some cushion. Shawnee Mission East mounted several comeback attempts, but none were successful and the Jaguars emerged victorious 59-58. This improbable win put the team in the State Championship. Their opponent would be the seemingly unbeatable BV Northwest Huskies, the #1 overall seed at 24-0 and one of the best high school basketball teams in the country. Although the Jaguars put up a valiant fight in the championship game, BV Northwest was ultimately too much to handle. The Jaguars lost by a final tally of 46-29 in the State finals and finished with their best place in the State Tournament since 2007, when the won the title. BV West’s incredible run deep into the postseason will be remembered as an amaz-ing accomplishment, and a product of great coaching, dedicated players, and a lot of determination, making a postseason run that most people didn’t have any idea was coming.
Basketball Steals SecondBoys basketball team makes it to the State Championship after a series of upsets
Taylor LakeReporter
Tucker PaineOnline Editor in Chief
bvwnews.com page13spotlight sports {
Thirteen seniors sign letter of intent to continue athleticsWriting Their Future
McKenzie SokolaskiOttawa University
Softball
JACOB PASCHALSection Editor
Maggie HighbergerPittsburg State University
Volleyball
Ryan CiprianiPittsburg State University
Football
Alex NorrisPittsburg State University
Football
Seo-In KimDuke University
Soccer
Chad CarlsonBrown University
Golf
Alex BrivikTruman State University
Soccer
Davis ClarkKansas State University
Football
Lily BehrmannUniversity of Kansas
Softball
Nadir ZayyadBaker University
Football
Kyle FecteauBaker University
Golf
Sydney KennedyIllinois State University
Gymnastics
Natalie BatesWashburn University
Volleyball
bvwnews.com page 14spotlightopinion {
Zombie Apocalypse
Reporters
John wilson Derek Bullis harrison whitney
Our culture’s fascination with walking dead bodies has ex-ploded over the last decade. All
around us we hear about the undead; the latest zombie movie, detailing the end of the world as we know it, or a video game where blowing zombies to bits is the most important item on the agenda. The new hit show The Walking Dead only intensi-fied America’s love for zombiehood, and now, it seems that everywhere we look (in pop culture) we can find a zombie reference.
Apocalypse theories are one of the most interesting and horrifying things we are faced with today. No end seems out of hand—whether it’s a super volcano in Yellowstone or a giant meteor, everyone has his or her own idea about the termi-nation of Earth. The newest and most exciting theory, it seems, is the idea that zombies will take over the world. When the time comes for us to face mindless brain-eaters, a few Spotlight reporters will be prepared; they have already figured out their strategy for holding off the zombies.
Spotlight reporters weigh in on different apocalypse strategies
Offensive Defensive
Middle of the Road
-Maddy Wilson, Editor in Chief
Harrison Whitney Derek Bullis
John Wilson
in Pop Culture
We all know that eventually the world will be overtaken by zombies. To live through it,
the best strategy is to load up on ammo and follow me into the battle to save the human race. The smartest decision to take if we had a zombie apocalypse would be the of-fensive; keep the fresh brain addicts as far away as possible. The first thing I would do is get a group of people who want to live like me, and get as many weapons and vehicles as possible and maybe a safe house. I would drive around the city and hunt the zombies to try and salvage
humanity. The last thing I would want to do is let the zombies surprise me before I got to them. Some people think stocking up on supplies or hiding until its over is the right move—it’s not. A definsive strategy only yields the possibility for more deaths. We would need to take power into our own hands, and not let the zombies take control. Taking the offensive stand pres-ents the opportunity to find survivors. I truly believe an offensive stand against zombies is the way to go; after all, there would be no point in sitting around waiting for them to get to you.
Since the new hype is that the world is going to end with a zombie apocalypse, I have prepared an infallible strategy. In
my opinion, a “middle of the road” strategy yields the best chance of survival. First, I would steal a huge Jeep from a dealership because there is the chance that I would need a quick getaway. Along with my Jeep, I would stock up on a lot of guns ands ammo so that I am always prepared to defend myself. My fortress would be inside a SAM’s Club, because it would supply me with all
of the food, tools, and other necessities to survive. I would make sure that I was always prepared to take the offensive or defensive; it’s the best option. The roof would be caged by steel so that I could shoot and at the same time be protected from the zombies. Along the outside of the building would be people patrolling. Every once in a while, I would go out on raids with survivors and try to eliminate zombies if we came across them. My plan is fool proof; it is smart to take a strategy that is offensive and defensive so that we are prepared for anything.
The strategies that have been mentioned about dealing with a zombieapocalypse are short-term; they may last a week. Presented with the situation of a zombie apocalypse, people will become frantic and make
decisions with their life on the line. I am on the defensive end when it comes to strategizing, and the most intelli-gent end. The most important advice I can give is to stay calm and go to Cabelas. Cabelas is a gold mine of tools necessary to live in the event of a zombie apoca-lypse. Food, water, and shelter are of utmost importance to survive. Cabelas has an abundance of all these options and more. Also, entertainment is important of keeping the mind sane. I can walk around Cabelas for hours on end without getting bored. On the defensive end, Cabelas gives you protection with weapons, an alarmsystem to alert if broken into, and stuffed animals for intimidation if needed. Also, if need be and an escape is necessary, there is equipment to travel. In the next couple of years an apocalypse will break out and the defensive strategy I just presented is the only chance to survive. I highly advise following it.
page15spotlightopinion {
Spotlight is printed nine times a year for the students and the BV West community. Its goals are to inform, entertain, and interpret through editorials and bylined articles and to provide an open forum for communication for students and faculty members.
Spotlight aims to be fair, accurate and impartial. The content of this publication is determined by its student editors and may contain controversial subject matter.
Spotlight does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty adviser, the administra-tion of Blue Valley West, or USD 229.
ONLINE at BVWNews.com
Reporters: Rebecca Abraham, Lauren Albers, Derek Bullis, Lauren Hansen, Alexa Henderson, Marissa Hotujac, Cheyenne Jones, Taylor Lake, Cal-vin Lee, Stephanie Liang, Connor McGovern, Justin Madden, Ashley Oades, Ethan Paine, Kate Price, Tomos Ridenhour, Jack Rogoz IV, Harrison Whitney, Ryan Williams, Erin Walker, John Wilson
Assistant News Editor: Mitchell Bird
Section Editors: Katherine Byrket, Emily Binsh-tok, Jacob Paschal, Lauren Pino
Managing Editor: Emily Moore
Online Editors in Chief: Abby Krstulic, Tucker Paine
GOLD MEDALISTColumbia Scholastic Press Association
PACEMAKER WINNERNational Scholastic Press Association
I am a fairly easy going person. Not a lot of things frustrate me, but there are some situations that ignite murderous rage. One of the best examples of
this is when people at BV West debate about going in-state for college. Inevitably, K-State and KU are involved with any college discussion. Both schools are accredited as Best Midwestern schools by the Princeton Review. But for some reason, there is a strange attitude toward students who decide to go. There is a reaction of, “Really? You are going in-state?” with just a hint of “you could not do better?” I don’t know about anyone else, but I did not “settle” on K-State. I fell in love when I stepped foot on campus. I was confident that I would have a wonderful four years in Manhattan, so I paid my housing dues and told them I would be joining the Wildcat family. While I know that our administrators are happy with any college decision, I feel that BV West pushes us all to go out-of-state. For example, a friend of mine told her counselors during her junior plan meeting that she wanted to go to K-State to be a vet and then spent the
following twenty minutes listening to them try and come up with other out-of-state colleges. During my own meeting, going in state was not an option that was presented to me. I appreciated the desire for my counselor to show me schools that had “the best” business programs, but most of them were financially out of the question. I know I am beating a dead horse, but college is expensive. We live in a wealthy area, but that does not mean that every senior can afford to pay for their college education. The Princeton Review ranked KU as #6 for Best College Newspaper, and the school has a good reputa-tion for its journalism and medical programs. In addi-tion, K-State has a stellar reputation for its veterinary program. They also have agricultural degrees such as Milling Science and Management, Bakery Science and Management and a few others that are unique. I find it difficult to understand why people would avoid getting a good education while paying less money. Along with a good education, students that have gone to really any in-state college are just as happy as they
would have been anywhere else. In fact, the Princeton Review notes that K-State is ranked #4 for Best Qual-ity of Life and #8 for Happiest Students. I felt like it was just as important for me to feel at home at my college of choice, and I am sure that every other senior feels the same way. That’s why it is important for anyone to remember that college is a personal decision. Knocking someone for their choice is not cool. We all need to remember that friendly rivalries are okay, but there is a fine line of what is okay and what is offensive. Before judging someone for their college decision, stop and consider what made them choose their school. Then, realize that they picked what was best for them, and stop worrying about it.
Don’t Hate on In-State Seniors are criticized for their choice to attend Kan. colleges
Disney Dilemma
Abby KRuSTILIC
Online Editor in Chief
CONNOR MCGOvERN
Reporter
Disney Channel has been around since 1983. The first hit show was the Mickey Mouse Club. Later in
the 90s and early 2000s, T.V. series like Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, and Kim Possible came into play. These types of shows are what most high school kids have grown up with. Re-watching old episodes from these shows can give teenagers nostalgia, but these old Disney Channel shows are no longer viewed because there are newer shows being aired. The only problem with these new shows is that they suck. Every time I turn on Disney Channel, I see idiotic sitcoms that consist of obnoxious characters and repetitive plots. How do kids even enjoy these? Disney seriously needs to
step up, fire their writers, and come up with some original material. It is not hard to have a meeting and spend a couple hours sharing ideas. The writers are acting like they are not even trying anymore. I am embarrassed whenever I catch an episode of one of their mediocre sitcoms. Another reason why Disney is worsen-ing are the “actors/actresses” that want to become pop stars. I am already annoyed with their acting, why do I want to hear them sing? They are trying to market themselves and only want more money. If I had a nickel for every time a Disney Channel actor became a singer, then I would be as rich as them. It seems as if the new Disney Channel stars have the need to sell out.
Another thing that grinds my gears is that there aren’t anymore good original movies. I miss watching movies like The Luck of the Irish, Smart House, and Johnny Tsunami. The whole family could watch those movies; the new films are childish and repetitive.The older movies taught viewers valuable lessons. Now, the only lesson that is learned is to be happy and then break out in song. Disney Channel needs to get new mate-rial. As a high school student, I know I have outgrown watching Disney Channel, but I do feel like these shows need to improve be-cause the younger generation should be able to grow up with better television programs. If Disney cannot fix the problem, then they should just play their older shows.
New Disney shows dissapoint older generations
bvwnews.compage16 spotlight photo essay{
Moments Impactof
Photos and Design by E
lise St. Louis
1: Sophomore Amelia Snyder catches a triple spin of her rifle in a dress rehearsal before the teams perfor-mance at the University of Central Missouri. Synder is a two year member of winter guard. 2: Senior Emma Bjornson does a pirouette in her solo at the finale of the show. Bjornson has worked very hard as a three year member of winter guard in order to earn her solo. 3: Senior Katie Wernes begins the flag routine in her drill. 4: Snyder and freshman Sarah Leach practice their combined flag routine. In this complex drill, the girls switch flags with each other while tossing them in the air. 5: Junior Brittany Coburn displays her flags colors while tossing her flag. 6: Wernes poses with her flag while waiting for critique from the winter guard coach Josh Votaw. 7: Senior Whitney Dill, Wer-nes and Leach practice their rifle routine in the band room. The BV West Winter Guard team took first place in their competition at the University of Central Missouri.
Practice makes perfect as Winter Guard prepares for competition
